Ten Christmas songs that don't actually suck!

I was in the supermarket today and sure enough, they were playing the Christmas hits from hell. When I heard Merry Christmas Everyone by Shakin' Stevens, that was when I thought, right that's my cue to head to the nearest till and get the fuck out of here. Hopefully, I can pay for my groceries under a minute as I hate that song so much. But no, as fate would have it, there was a long queue of Christmas shoppers and thus I was tortured with Chris Rea's Driving Home For Christmas, which was equally fucking awful. At least by then, I could run for the nearest exit but not before I heard the start of Fairy Tale of  New York by the Pogues, holy shit, they really do know how to pick the very worst of Christmas music in my local Sainsbury supermarket. This happens every December. By now, you can tell that I am a bah-hambug kinda Scrooge who does my tax return on Christmas day and no, I don't celebrate Christmas at all. There are some Christmas songs that were truly created to torture those who work in retail, good grief - what have they done to deserve this and what about their human rights? But actually, Christmas songs do not have to suck. Mariah Carey has made history by reaching number one on the Billboard charts in America this week when 'All I Want For Christmas' reached number one 25 years after it was released - that was actually from my teenage years and I did buy that album when it first came out. I actually do like that song, so here's my top ten list of Christmas song that actually don't suck. Actually, some of these songs are not specifically Christmas songs but more songs associated with winter or the festive period.

All I Want For Christmas Is You/Miss You Most (At Christmas Time) by Mariah Carey

Sorry I am greedy in squeezing two songs into one listing here, but since you all know about All I Want For Christmas Is You, allow me to introduce another Christmas song from that same album from 1994. It was actually released as a the B-side to the single of All I Want For Christmas Is You in 1994 (boy, how do I start explaining the concept of a B-side to you the millennial generation).  So a music video was made for it and what I love about both songs is the fact that Mariah Carey captured the Christmas spirit in two completely original songs that she wrote at the ripe old age of 24. I think it's quite brave for a singer and songwriter to do original material for a Christmas album when most others will just do covers of favourites that are very well known. There's something timeless about both songs and they do not sound dated even though they do remind me of the 1990s. You know back in 1994, we didn't have the internet or Youtube - I remember watching both music videos on the big screen at the basement event hall at Takashimaya in Singapore. These two songs was so massively popular in Singapore then that it was a staple during the Christmas of 1994, 1995 and 1996. I did buy her album Merry Christmas in 1994 and sure she has loads of classic Christmas songs like O Holy Night, Silent Night and Joy To The World on that album. There isn't a bad track on that album once they are given the Mariah Carey treatment - I love it when she hits those high notes, something she has exploited for this 2019 Christmas ad for Walkers.

I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas by Gayla Peevey

Normally, I am a total bah hambug when it comes to buying presents for Christmas, I am cynical about how the retail industry takes advantage of parents who buy into the concept of celebrating Christmas with presents. Holy shit, I have a former colleague who has a 5 year old daughter and he posted his daughter's Christmas list on Facebook. She was a demanding little brat and it's not for me to tell my friend how he ought to bring up his daughter, but it just shocked me that someone that young can demand that many things for Christmas and on what basis? So why do I like this song? Firstly, I actually love hippos, I think they're adorable. Secondly, this is clearly a song written by an adult rather than a real American girl making ridiculous demands on her parents for Christmas - she said she doesn't want any other kinds of toys for Christmas and she just wants a pet for Christmas. It would have been fairly boring if she had asked for a puppy or a kitten (she promises to be a responsible pet owner as well) but she wants a hippo and there's something so ridiculous about the whole situation that it comes across as funny, even absurd. She is naive and cute in the way she sings about her love for hippos - she wants a hippo because they are just so freaking cute and awesome, not because she is a demanding little brat (like my former colleague's 5 year old daughter and her ridiculously long Christmas list).

Let It Be Christmas Everywhere by Alan Jackson

This is one of those lesser known Christmas songs that you may not be familiar with, I've heard it once in a while over the years. Alan Jackson is an American singer and unless you're into your country & western music, you probably have never ever heard of him. It is not a genre of music that I like but somehow this is a Christmas song that just works for me. I was reminded of this song very recently last week when I was in the Christmas market in Tallinn, Estonia when an Estonian Santa Claus drove up in a truck, playing this song- it was snowing and oh yeah, even this Scrooge felt festive at that moment when you had everything from a massive Christmas tree, a European Christmas market, Santa Claus giving out gifts (he gave me a packet of nuts) and this song, by Alan Jackson. Look, it is so freaking surreal that you have to see my Instagram post. As I was celebrating Christmas in Estonia, somehow this song felt really appropriate. I grew up in Singapore for crying out aloud, it never ever feels like Christmas in Singapore when it is 34 degrees outside no matter how many Christmas carols you sing. I think that one evening at the Christmas market in Tallinn, meeting that Estonian Santa Claus there, with real snow falling and hearing this song was probably the most beautiful, perfect Christmas moment I had ever experienced in my life. For me, Christmas just doesn't feel like Christmas without real, white snow.

Mary's Boy Child/Oh My Lord by Boney M

Okay this one is purely nostalgia - I heard this as a child, I can't even remember when but I think my eldest sister was given Boney M's Christmas album from 1981 and it was something I remember from my childhood. Strange how some things just resonate with you from your childhood but there you go. And this explains my next choice as well - it was Christmas music from my childhood since my eldest sister really liked this song back in the 1980s. I am very close to my two older sisters, I love them dearly and I suppose music from our childhood do make me feel closer to my two sisters.

Winter Wonderland/Silver Bells/White Christmas by the Carpenters

A Winter's Tale by David Essex

This is a winter song that doesn't mention the word Christmas. Dating from the year 1982, it has that classic British musical style (well it was written by Mike Batt and Tim Rice) and it captures that somewhat bleak wintertime mood that we do get in the UK when the days are short, the weather is cold and whilst it may be Christmas, you're not exactly feeling cheery because there may be other things in your life that are bothering you. With lines like "why would the world take notice of one more love that's failed", sometimes I crave that kind of realness in my music, rather than the kind of over-the-top happy Christmas music that you tend to hear when visiting a shopping mall in December. If you're too young to know this song, give it a listen and you'll find it refreshingly different from the majority of the Christmas music out there.

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen by Annie Lennox

Even Annie Lennox did a Christmas album in 2010 and whilst I was cynical about her getting on that bandwagon, this is the great Annie Lennox after all. Only Lennox can take a classic Christmas carol and turn it into something truly special.

Walking In The Air by Aled Jones

This is another Christmas classic that doesn't mention Christmas or anything remotely connected to Christmas at all - this song was written for the 1982 animated film The Snowman and whilst that film has mostly been forgotten, this song is still a classic at Christmas time in the UK. There have been several versions of this but the most memorable was by Welsh boy soprano Aled Jones. He did release a 2007 update where he duets with his younger self (see video below). There's something about the Welsh accent that makes me fond of this song as I am a fluent Welsh speaker, of course. 

Feliz Navidad by Michael Buble and Thailia

Oh yes, this Christmas carol is a classic and there have been so many version of this song done by singers who clearly don't speak Spanish and whilst I do like this song, I had to go with Michael Buble because he has an Argentinian wife and has clearly made a concerted effort to learn Spanish (like me). This version contains a lot more Spanish than others which have the minimum number of Spanish words in it. And this is Michael Buble - you just can't go wrong with Buble.

The Perfect Year by Dina Carroll

Looking beyond Christmas, we need to usher in the new year and I was looking for my favourite new year song and whilst there are a few contenders on the list, I settled for The Perfect Year by Dina Carroll from 1993. Again, I am clearly fond of songs from my teenage years! This was taken from the amazing musical Sunset Boulevard so there are indeed several versions of this song, but Dina Carroll's voice is the one that does this song justice. And if you like this song, pleasecheck out my favourite song from Dina Carroll which is Don't Be A Stranger, oh it will send chills down your spine.

So there you go, that's my ten songs for the season that don't suck. I hope you will enjoy them - many thanks for reading.